Many frozen confections, dairy products, custards and other semi-solid comestibles are packaged with syrups or toppings placed in the bottom of a container for the particular product and then the custard-like mass of product is filled into the container over the topping such that, in the case of a relatively wide-mouthed, tapered-wall container, the intended method of serving the food product with the topping thereon is to invert the open container on a serving dish and have the product with topping dispensed en mass from the wide-mouthed end of the container. Thus, a molded pudding or sundae-like product remains on the serving dish after dispensing.
In providing this type of product, there has been no satisfactory way of enhancing the discharge short of stabbing holes in the bottom of the container or heating the container to achieve a semi-liquid state of the material around the walls thereof in an effort to permit air to access into the container and the product to slide therefrom without distortion such that the resulting product has eye appeal to the user.
Because of the contortions and forces which must be exerted upon the product by these less than satisfactory prior art methods of discharging the products from their containers, the products are often distorted, blemished or otherwise rendered unsatisfactory to the eye even though their edibility may not be in question.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a new and novel container for semi-solid comestibles packaged with toppings at the bottom of the container and in which the container is adapted to be inverted to discharge the material therefrom.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a new and novel rupturable vent means formed in the bottom of a container adapted to discharge topped comestibles from the mouth thereof by inverting the container.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a means and method for manufacturing a container with a rupturable vent means in the bottom thereof.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a new and novel wide-mouthed frusto-conical container having a rupturable vent means formed in the bottom thereof in such a manner that the containers are readily stackable within a shipping carton or the like.
These and other objects of the present invention will become more fully apparent with reference to the following specification and drawings which relate to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.